Sleeping pills -- rechristened as sleep medications -- are becoming increasingly accepted and a prescribed drug for young adults and even children.

The use of prescription sleeping pills among people ages 20 to 44 doubled from 2000 to 2004, according to an analysis of insurance claims.

Further, the number of children who were on sleep medication rose 85 percent. The use isn't widespread -- an estimated 181,050 children, or 0.22 percent of the population 19 and younger, take the drugs. Still, the increase came even though none of the most popular drugs is approved for use in children.

Nationally, 8.6 million people took prescription drugs to help them sleep last year. That's up from 5.5 million in 2000. Depending on the age group examined, that's 2.7 percent to 6.4 percent of the population. And the trend toward increased use, particularly among adults under 65, is clear.

The increased use raises concerns about whether the drugs -- heavily marketed through consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies -- are being used appropriately.

Americans spent $2.1 billion in 2004 on prescription drugs to help them sleep. That's up from $900 million in 2000. With several new drugs now on the market, and others about to be introduced, sales of sleeping medications are expected to double in coming years.

The growing acceptance of sleeping pills reflects broader trends in health care and society. It is now more socially acceptable to take prescription drugs, and people are more willing to seek such medications, despite the potential side effects.

The roughly $3 billion a year spent by pharmaceutical companies to advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers has contributed to this new attitude. At the same time, taking a pill is easier than making lifestyle changes that can address the underlying causes of a disorder.

Sleeping medications account for less than 1 percent of the $235.4 billion spent on prescription drugs last year. But the sharp increase since 2000 shows how new drugs can increase the cost of prescription drug coverage for employers and government health programs.

The increase stems in part from a new class of sleeping medications that have fewer or less severe side effects than the drugs previously available.

There also is a growing awareness of sleeping disorders, in part because of advertising for drugs such as Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata. And many doctors believe sleeping disorders remained largely untreated or unrecognized.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 70 million people in the United States may have trouble sleeping, and for 42 million, trouble sleeping is a chronic disorder.

Yet doctors and pharmacists note that sleeping medications -- just like all drugs -- are not without risks.

The market for sleeping medications has increased across all age groups, according to Medco's analysis. Although the largest increase was among adults ages 20 to 44, sales to adults 45 to 64 increased 61 percent. Roughly one in 20 adults in that age group now takes prescription drugs to help them sleep.

The smallest increase -- 16 percent -- was among people 65 and older. An estimated 6.4 percent of the people in that age group take prescription sleep medications.

Although the new sleep medications have fewer restrictions on their use, they are not without side effects.

The Web site for Lunesta, a sleeping drug introduced this year, warns that people should have at least eight hours to sleep before becoming active after taking the drug, and extreme care should be used when driving a car or operating machinery the next morning.

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Soldotna Professional Pharmacy

299 N. Binkley St.

Soldotna, AK

262-3800